Of Daphne and Demons
by theintuitivealmond
Summary: Star, Kelly, Marco, and Tom decide to play a new game. A quiet adventure for a warm day. If you like the story subscribe, comment, or follow. Your love or hate is more than enough to keep me writing :D
1. Chapter 1

"Marco, chill out. It's just a game."

Marco, ever the insistent, disagreed. "It is not a game, Tom; it's way of life. Star, you have to draw a card." Star yawned, chewing on the end of her hair. "I'm with Tom on this one Marco: I don't see why we have to play this game."

"You only know Mewni card games, as your squire it's my job to expand your horizon. You gotta be cultured Star, learn to play more Earth games—dang it, why do I only draw Nines? Kelly, it's your turn."

Kelly mimicked Star in action and boredom; she yawned and tugged at her hair. "I feel calling this game Uno is redundant. It would be like calling my sword "Slicer"; it could be so much more creative." She placed a pair of eights down. "Speaking of Uno, you've all just been "oned"". Everyone sighed; it had been the third time she had won.

It was a warm Mewni day, the air cool and the sky blue. Down in the forests of Mewni the tadpoles were cooling their bodies in the moist springs; in the east, the pigeons were doing the same. There was no evil in the land that day, no monsters to hunt, no crisis to solve, no cave to explore: the entire kingdom was silent. Like a cloud now quenched of its thirst, there was little to do with the day but drift and idly await the next destination.

The group, composed of Tom, Marco, Kelly, and Star, was settled on the floor of Star's bed chambers, the bed off-limits due to previous shenanigans. They were close to the window, the red sun-rays toasting their skin until they were forced to turn and cool their warmed bodies on the cold floor. The four were seated around a circular table Star had created after destroying her old closet door, an error Star had realized in hindsight but had assured the others would never happen gain; her mother had not been pleased.

"Want to play another game?" Offered Marco. Star, the fair-haired, rolled her eyes and rested her head on Tom's leg. "I'll pass. We're just going to keep doing this until you win. It'll be like charades all over again." The division of the table had Star seated next to Tom, Tom seated next to Marco, Marco seated next to Kelly, and Kelly not paying attention. "I am not that petty, Star."

Tom ran a hand through Star's hair; it reminded Marco of dog fur. "If I recall, you spent 6 months practicing Ping Pong after I defeated you just so you could win."

"I would have done so too if you hadn't cheated and taken your hands off."

"You play by your Earth rules, I'll play by mine." Tom kissed the tip of Star's headband. Outside of this room, this action would be frowned upon: in this room, he feared no judgement.

It was not known between Tom or Star how long they had been dating. There had been no start day, no comet to signal this second coming; by their internal clocks, they had been dating for a few months. Or a few weeks. Marco and Tom continued their scruple, a feat which went unnoticed by Kelly; she was quite bored with the entire arrangement and tired of winning.

She was unsure as to why she had come in the first place. Maybe it was due to boredom, maybe due to loneliness. It had been a few weeks or maybe months since Tad, her hairy little ex, had moved out of her hair and cut himself from her life. His departure, while initially light, created an absence in Kelly which was filled with whatever available compromise she could easily ingest.

But such things never exist; Practicalities were short, and before long Kelly was by herself. In his absence, Kelly had found time to reflect on what had gotten her to this point and what she wanted. After much contemplation, she realized the answer was nothing. Kelly was a Grecian Urn of a woman, beautiful and intricate to behold but empty. Her arms, which had swung many a sword, were strong but not disciplined. Her legs, which had galloped the highest of mountains, were rugged but not chiseled. Her heart, which had loved before, was empty. And it would always be empty.

Reflecting had been good for Kelly: it brought to light how little she contributed at any given time. Much as a mockingbird will imitate the melody of another songbird, Kelly was an echo of what talent would permiss. She would never be the greatest fighter, runner, or lover; she would only be what nature permitted.

"Kelly, do you want to play another game?" Kelly brought herself back to the conversation at hand. "Pass. Is there a game were I'm not the only one that wins?" The question irked Marco, as she knew it would; she enjoyed having a little fun with him from time to time.

Kelly, to her own surprise, found herself more and more attracted to Marco. This change was not sudden like a rainstorm, but gradual like an engine. This cerebral change brought about a childish nature inside of Kelly that she had never known. When she had been with Tad, their relationship had been straight forward, emotionless: it seemed they were both meant for each other and that was the sole attraction. In the case of Marco, it was different; she was bashful, awkward. For the first time, she found something in someone that made her feel alive, made her worthless.

And she loved it.

"That's it," Marco suddenly stood and cried, "I am getting my Parcheesi board from Sir Lavabo. I'll be back in a few!" Star yawned from Tom's lap. "You left your dimensional scissors on the bed, Marco."

"A walk won't kill me, Star," Marco said, opening the door.

"I'm coming with," beamed Kelly. She reveled in the thought of being alone with him. It also occurred to her that the dynamic of the room did not work without him: she had always been more Ponyhead's friend, not Star or Tom's. Her stomach quelled at the thought of being alone with the couple.

"Kelly, you didn't have to come," he said as he closed the door.

"It's no problem to me, I was tired of winning anyways."

Marco chuckled; he could appreciate the girl's confidence. Marco double-checked Star's door to make sure it closed properly: there was no telling what Star's mom would say if she knew Tom and Star were alone together. He motioned to Kelly that it was time to go.

Losing one game had been enough for him; he was not about to lose another.


	2. Chapter 2

Mewni castle was not a typical castle. Created and crafted through many millennia, Mewni castle was a labyrinth contained in simplicity and design with expeditions of the castle conducted as early as Queen Lyric with continued ventures taken to this very day. With Butterfly after Butterfly born and raised within its wall, the castle had stood for generations with few of its inhabitants accessing the troves of wonders and secrets the castle contained. Skywynne had been the only Butterfly to understand the complex nature of the castle, a feat she would never scribe or whisper; only flames knew of these secrets and even they had died long ago. To modern day observers, Mewni castle was a jarring mess of towers and doors, and it was in the highest peaks of one of these towers that Marco sensed something was amiss.

"Sta—Kelly! What's going on here? You took us down one wrong hallway; that should set us back a few minutes. But why haven't we found the stairs yet? Or Star's door? It feels like we're lost in a forest, minus the forest."

"So just lost, then?" Kelly quipped. "We're not lost, Marco, we're just enjoying the journey. The stairs will be around here somewhere." Kelly surveyed the area. "See, I found another hallway already. Let's go!"

"Kelly, wait!" uttered Marco, "What if we go down the wrong hallway again? I've been here months and none of these places look familiar. We need to stop and figure this out before we're, like, super lost!"

Kelly found Marco's pouting quite adorable. And easy to disregard.

"Marco, I've been exploring since I was six and have been ignoring advice since I was seven; I _got_ this. Besides," she added", there are worse things than being lost with me!" She pulled Marco into the hallway with her, ricocheting his body into a wall in the process. Marco was used to being tossed around by adventure; his pain tolerance was well-formed by this point. Marco had never wanted action in his life, never wanted adventure, and to him, this current state of events, his current role in the universe, showed life enjoyed a keen sense of humor.

The duo walked ten minutes before they found themselves in another hallway. The area was quiet, stretched-out and different than any hallway they had walked before. The doors were jumbled, contorted, some skinny, some wavy, some as high as the ceiling while others were as small as their socks. Doors were lined against both walls, spiraling and grotesque in feature but uniform in their space and frequency. The duo looked back in forth. The hallway went on forever.

"Marco, you've lived in Mewni castle for a while now: do you remember any doors looking like this?"

"Only the ones Star destroys, the ones River builds then destroys, and the ones the Queen has set up as boobytraps that are inevitably destroyed."

"They don't pay the carpenter enough."

"They don't pay him at all. The Queen is still looking for a new one after the last two quit."

Marco examined a nearby door that reminded him of Buff Frogs mouth; Kelly did the same. Before long Kelly grew bored and began her own expedition. "Where do you think these doors lead, Marco?"

"Rooms, probably. Maybe a few contain stairs leading to other floors of the castle. Your guess is as good as mine."

"Care to open a few and find out?" Kelly had her eyes on a rather large door not far away.

"Kelly, I don't think we should do that. Let's try to see if we can find our way back to Star's room: we can find the stairs after that."

"What's the big deal, Marco? This is still inside Mewni Castle; one of these have to lead to the stairs."

Kelly walked over to one of the doors, a rotund and high one; if she could had stood on her own shoulders, she would have barely touched halfway on the frame. "Look, see Marco. This one is good; a bit on the large side, but a door by door standards." She pressed on the wooden frame, opening the door; instantly, she lost her balance. Inside the world of the door was an abyss that stretched without end. Pulsating dark-blue light colored the darkness, the upheaval of color a memory of invisible light. It was into this world that Kelly fell.

She looked up and saw a luminescent-blue sky. Before her appeared an eagle, a light-blue eagle, which exploded and unleashed a lightning storm that shook the world's foundation. Marco reached forward and grabbed Kelly's hand only to lose his griping on the door as well; together, they fell into the abyss.

The duo fell for what felt like ages, countless years, months even. The explosions surrounding them never stopped, the lights taking new shapes and forms as the intensity of the blasts grew. There was an apocalypse of snowflakes, a sudden flurry that froze and melted before their eyes. A Christmas tree appeared. The world gradually exploded, then turned black all at once.

A blue light appeared at what they concluded was the bottom, a lillypad of sorts in an otherwise empty pond. The pair landed, nearly colliding with an obelisk that had not become visible until they could almost touch it. Kelly tucked and rolled as she landed while Marco absorbed the full impact of the fall. Once the duo stopped lamenting their pain, they explored.

The azure floor was marble; Kelly realized this. She tentatively pressed her foot against the darkness. The darkness was tangible and solid, likely marble as well. There was no reasonable explanation as to why the marbled glowed blue or black, but Kelly knew not everything required a satisfying answer. A spotlight shone on an open door within walking distance and on the obelisk the pair had nearly collided with before. The obelisk consisted of a pedestal and the remains of a statue that had all but broken down. On the pedestal kneeled a woman in armor, her helmet gone, her hair down to her waist; her head was titled, hiding her eyes. In the front of the pedestal was written as follows:

_I am the being known as Lament._

Above the statue, not seven Kellys high, was the door they had come from.

"Hmmm, I could have sworn the fall was higher."

"I'm not complaining, at least we're alive." Marco muttered. "Could you imagine what would have happened if we landed on the statue?"

"Yeah, we would have made a delicious Mar-Kelly kebab."

"Gross. That aside, looks like we can make our way to the door over there. I doubt we can make it back to where we came from. Come on." Marco turned abruptly and walked towards the door. Danger and mystery were beneath him; all he wanted to do was go home.

"Hey Marco, get a look at this." There was something else written under the inscription of the statue. Kelly brushed aside a layer of dust.

_In conquest, I toil._

"I…really like that." Kelly whispered.

Marco eyed the inscription. "That doesn't make sense."

"Everything makes sense, Marco. All you need to do is think." She traced the inscription with her right hand. To her surprise, her fingers came back black.

"How long do you think this has been here?"

She didn't answer; she had an idea. She ran her finger along the statue and began writing on her left arm. Within a moment's notice, the phrase was captured.

"I don't want to forget how pretty it was. I'll write it down somewhere good as soon as we get back."

Marco nodded, but said nothing. There was no point in arguing with Kelly: beauty _was_ subjective. The duo walked to the door and entered the hallway, leaving the statue behind.

Off in the distance, a gear flickered; the spotlight faded.

And before long, the room was no more.


	3. Chapter 3

Marco and Kelly spent the better part of the day adventuring.

After 4 hours of exploration, Kelly was sure their adventures could occupy the better part of a small library or at least it could if she wrote it. The duo had seen much they could barely comprehended much less describe, the descriptive capabilities of the two limited to more than different "oohs" and "ahhhs". Marco likened himself to Marco Polo due to his discoveries, his enjoyment of the name, and his determination to constantly yell "Polo" so Kelly was never lost.

The duo wandered room after room through undiscovered phenomenon until, at around midday, Marco began to grow hungry. Compared to their other problems, Marco saw hunger as a blessing: they still had yet to find their way home, and there was no sign of any stairs or familiar landmarks. Before long Marco began feeling less like Polo and more like Odysseus; his hubris had brought him to this precautious situation; he should have stopped Kelly when he had the chance. Kelly enjoyed the adventure. She had seen glowing anomalies, had scaled precarious ledges, and had even ridden a cloud; it had been a good day. Out of everything they had seen, heard, felt, her favorite part was the time she spent with Marco. She had never had the opportunity to spend so much time with him, let alone by herself. Star, Ponyhead, and Tad had often occupied their time throughout their adventures, and she relished the time spent without them. Kelly had no need to see her friends, let alone Tad: when he had left, he had taken a part of her, both emotionally and physically (his resistance in leaving had forsaken more hair than she would have liked).

Marco made everything fun, made her feel different. Under his gaze she found herself self-conscious, bird-like even: she constantly plumed herself, fluffing up her hair and breasts in the hopes of garnering any attention. She was aware of all her faults, how her body disgusted her, how the muscular nature of her arms made them look like her calves and how her calves were larger than tree-trunks. All these imperfections pressed into her, furthering deeper insecurities: how could she hope to be loved when she could not even love herself?

The two walked down a dark brown hallway, searching for a new destination for it had been quite some time since they had seen another door. Movement and action meant there was a chance they were going the right way; idleness equaled failure. The floor was green, green like the leaves of trees, with paintings of people they had never seen polluting the hallway. Every frame was tilted as if a child had caressed each while running down the hallway.

"Marco, is this how it was like when you chased down Hekapoo? The adventure, the mystery; was the draw always this exciting?"

Marco bit his lip. "Not really, it was more disheartening than anything. For starters, I gave up going home early on with Hekapoo; I have yet to give up now." The duo turned a corner.

"It couldn't have been that bad," Kelly chided," you knew Star was going to save you in the end, probably like she will now, too. Forget the follies and think about all you did: you explored so many worlds, chased down a member of the High Magic Counsel; heck, you even had abs!"

"That's true, I did. And I doubt I'll be able to forget any of it, the memories or the abs." Marco sighed. "The first few days were fine, I thought I would go home soon. Then the days turned into months. And then months turned into years. And then I gave up believing. It didn't happen instantly; it was a gradual process. It's odd thinking of it now but in a way I detached myself from reality, my prior reality anyways, kinda like a hermit crab leaving its shell: my adventure became my new reality. Oh, I know it sounds silly, but I guess another way to put it is my life became like a video game—wait, you don't know what that is. I can explain more about them later—in that I knew the life I lived wasn't real, or at least it shouldn't be. Thousands of things were passing me by: what was happening in Mewnie, what was Jackie doing, my parents, my friend. But at that time nothing existed but this game, this game of hide and seek. And it sucked."

"Have you ever wanted something so much that when you finally get it, you don't know what to do? That's how I always felt like with Christmas: I would always make this large list of gifts, and then wait for my parents to get them for me. When I finally received them Christmas Day, I was always disappointed: I had lost the ability to want the gifts now that I had them and when it came down to it, it was this hope for these gifts that made these them so important to me (though they were also pretty fun to play with). In kind of the same way, I remembered not wanting my adventure to end for as soon as it did I would be left with this emptiness. So much had changed; I didn't know who I was anymore. And all I had was this game. I was afraid if I finished the game my new life would become my reality, and it frightened me: I was too scared to be a different Marco."

The dup turned another corner, the abrupt change causing Kelly to bump into Marco. Kelly inherently reached for Marcos hand. To her surprise, she found he was shaking. Marco, the ever proud, turned his head so Kelly couldn't see him. He didn't say anything. Neither did she. She ran her fingers through his; he squeezed her hand. Nothing else needed to be said.

The duo continued walking down the hallway until they turned and found a door. "Doesn't look like Star's door." Marco muttered. "It's probably another random room behind there."

Kelly shrugged. "One more door won't kill us. Ready for adventure, Marco?"

He made an attempted at a smile and quietly opened the door.

The room was sparkling and immense. Stacked golden bricks formed the walls of the room more beautiful and twice the size of the Mewnie Grand Hall. The walls went on forever in both width and length, the ceiling barely visible to Marco's young eyes; against these sparkling walls were shelfs lined with an unprecedented amount of books. The shelves were tall, each lined with manuscripts of differing size, shape, and color, some faded, some fairly new. The pair glanced through the shelves, none of the books familiar to either of them. In the center of the library was a mound of petrified manuscript covers. The hill was ancient, generations after generations of fallen books roomed together in one mound. Mostly covers remained, the pages long since eroded; Kelly thought it was probably their dust that made the walls sparkle. Across the room was a grand door that led into another hallway.

"Oh, I really like this one" Kelly whispered, turning to enjoy the room's contents. "This one feels like it had a weird sort of energy in it."

"It is a nice change of pace," said Marco, prodding the mound of covers. "How do you think these all got here?"

"How do you think any of this happened? I'm going to chalk it up to magic." Kelly walked over to a shelf. Standing close, she realized she couldn't see where it touched the ceiling. She reached for a book. It moved beneath her finger. To her dismay the book gave a hearty caw and flew from the shelf, flapping it's covers and moving its pages until it reached a shelf not too far away.

"Noooooooo waaaaaaay."

She grabbed another book. And then another.

Each book cawed and then quickly flew away, leaving an empty space behind. Kelly braced herself, fully delving into her mischievous nature. She ran her hand along the shelf, running and laughing as the books flew on their own. She ran as fast as her tanned legs could take her, soon cycling the room before she knew it. The departure of one book alerted another, sending troves of books flying into the room. Marco, ever surprised, found himself in the center of a storm of pages, cawing covers and beautiful words surrounding his body like a hurricane. He was not afraid of the moment, but more intrigued by the wonder it presented. All around books flew to and fro, the storm growing as more and more books joined the flock. Each was different and unique, each infrasubspecific to a flitting and beautifully vast species. Their flurried dance created a wind the ruffled Marco's hair and blurred his vision. He couldn't see anything anymore: there was a sea of movement around him.

Kelly spun her way into the center of the room, her hair catching in the wind. As she twirled within his distance, Marco wrapped her hands in his to stop her from blowing away.

"Marco, do see you see all these books?"

"I see them alright." Answered Marco. "I've never seen anything so beautiful before."

"That's not true," Kelly said in earnest," yes, yes you have."

The books flew around the pair, flying and gliding until the sea of pages and covers was all they could see. In the background gold sparkled, the memory of reflected light gone but not forgotten. No sun could pierce this horde, no sight could mirror its intensity. In all of nature, there had never been anything so beautiful.

"Marco, I like you."

It is often in times of great beauty that insecurity finds solace in strength. Much as the light gives rise to the day, an awe that polluted the senses was born inside of Kelly. In the midst of the storm Kelly found something she had never known before: Courage. Courage to speak her mind. Courage to say silent no more. She wanted to be heard. Looked at. Loved.

Marco said little but fell into her gaze. His eyes traveled to her lips; she was smiling.

"I like you, Marco Diaz. And I have liked you for a very, very long time."

Around them the storm continued, the winds creating a vortex around their bodies. Marco found his hair fluttering into his eyes while Kelly's hair fluttered into the breeze like tendrils in the sea. The chorus of birds grew louder, the noise deafening. He grabbed her hands and yelled into her ear to be heard over the fluttering abyss. "Kelly, I don't feel the same."

The sea of books circled the duo until each gradually took flight and landed on the shelves. While the spectacle had lasted minutes, it seemed only moments to the pair. The spectacle had faded much as the day did to the coming night. "I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same for you. I like Star. And I'm sorry if I ever presented myself differently." Marco yelled his words, unaware that the books had roosted moments before. Kelly said nothing. Marco, to be courteous, let go of her hand.

"W-we should go. We'll never make it home if we stay here." He moved to leave, but to his distress, Kelly stayed put. "Are you alright, Kelly? Do you want to talk about it?" Marco felt very awkward, but he had to say something: je couldn't leave his companion behind. The last bird flew on the shelf and went back to sleep.

"We need to go, Marco. I'm sure Star is waiting for you."

Marco started to say something but chose not to object; he wanted to leave the situation. Neither of them spoke of what had been said as they left the room. And as the duo walked down the hallway, they knew neither would stop and speak of it either. Being stationary was tantamount to failure.

And the both of them had to move on.


	4. Chapter 4

Kelly's first dream was of being a princess. In her younger days, she had spent much time playing dress up and wondering of all the misadventures she could have rescuing her kingdom and ruling over her people. She had always dreamt of being royalty, holding the greatest of galas, dancing the most trendy of dances, and being shy and coy, especially with men, for she knew from the books she read that men would like her more if she was mysterious and not herself. Her dream died early one autumn day when she learned she was not a descendant of any royal family. Naturally in her childish stubbornness she had tried starting her own royal family, going as far as ordaining her sandbox as her own kingdom, but few took her seriously and fewer still kept their laughter at bay when rain water drove her to abdicate her throne. Her second dream was to be the world's greatest swordsman, but this never worked to her advantage either: though she had friends to fight with, Jorby being by far the most prevalent, she had no one to professionally teach her the ways of battle. She was quite old by squire years now and unconnected to any royals that would entreat her to become their squire, much less care to elevate her place as a fighter. She knew Star, but she did not want anything from Star; taking sympathy from her would feel like a loss.

By the age of twelve Kelly realized all she could only be herself, not a queen or a master knight. On a warm afternoon at the tender age of twelve Kelly decided she was fine with being less than she wanted; life was always in the favor of those who had the means to reign in their future; at the moment, Kelly could barely walk.

Kelly and Marco traveled silently. As they waded through the endless trek of hallways their surroundings began becoming more and more familiar, the grayish walls of the inner chambers giving way to the pink hue that littered Mewni castle. Soon enough, familiar hallways appeared and the two found themselves in front of familiar doors. Marco was relieved to find familiar territory; Kelly was perturbed.

When the first Butterfly crossed the plains and discovered mountains of available land, there was much cheering on the part of Royalty even when the Natives fate was sealed, a sentiment Kelly shared. There was much to cheer for but much more to lament. The adventure would become part of a long line of memories Kelly would repress and hopefully forget. She didn't want to be awkward around Marco. She wanted to go back to how things were.

Kelly and Marco did not talk about what transpired early; why bring up the past? Marco knew Kelly's feelings were fleeting, she would be over him soon.

Kelly wanted to escape to wherever she could, maybe the beach, anywhere she could bury herself and never have to go. Their footsteps echoed through the empty halls, the outside light stinging their eyes for it had been some time since they had seen it. The duo kept walking until they reached what they had always been looking for: Star's Door.

"I guess we made it," said Marco, tentatively pressing his fingers against the wood.

"I guess we did." Replied Kelly. Marco waited for her to continue, but she said nothing. Quiet tension pressed against Marco's throat.

"That was a weird adventure we had," Marco uttered, his voice high and awkward," good thing everything that happened was in the heat of the moment and not sincere. It would suck if those events somehow affected our friendship in any way."

Kelly looked away. "Yeah, it would suck if it affected either of us."

Kelly's nose clenched; she wanted to cry. Marco reached an arm out, paused, and then awkwardly patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, slugger. We'll fix this soon enough. Let's go see what the others have been doing while we've been gone."

Marco opened the door, ending their conversation.

The room was just as they left it, Tom and Star still seated near the table Marco and Kelly had left, the sun lower than it had been before. While it had been closer to noon when they had left, the cardinal sunbeams showed it was only hours before the sun would set; soon, the tadpoles would return home.

"Star, you won't believe what just happened!" Marco started upon seeing his friend, "We got stuck in your castle, we saw so many weird and cool things! I have no idea how half of this stuff was inside of Mewni! Oh, also, I didn't bring back parcheesi. Also, I don't want to go back to the stairs for a while. You wouldn't believe how lost we got."

Marco reached over to grab Star only to have his hand pass through her. He tripped through her body and slammed into her bed.

"Yeah, that's new".

Marco looked back at the two. His leg wavered as he lifted his toe and prodded the form of Star, then Tom. His shoe went through each.

"This can't be real." He whispered. He stood up and stepped back, accidentally bumping into Kelly in the process. He grabbed her hand, looking for any support. "Kelly, what's happening?"

She had no reply; she was just as shocked as him. Kelly braced herself, sure she would fall through the tiles at any moment. Star did not reply to Marco's words; Kelly believed Star could not hear them. Star gave no notice of Kelly or Marco. Neither did Tom. Star sat on his lap, the thin girl wrapped around his lilac legs. They were close, the heat from Tom's breath touching her cheeks, a sensation she did not wholly mind. Tom was running his hands through her hair, her fair, blonde hair.

Marco's hands tightened.

"Guys, can you do this when we're not here? I don't mean to sound whiny, but you're making us kinda uncomfortable." His voice fell on deaf ears.

Tom brushed a soft, warm hand across Star's arm, the ice-clear skin cool beneath his demonic touch. Star nuzzled his fingers, imprinting her scent onto his. Tom placed a hand on her back and pressed her closer, warranting little resistance. Her soft bosom pressed against the decal of his ripped shirt, her breathing light like a hummingbird's wings. Star grabbed Tom's hand and cupped it under her chin. She kissed his knuckles, gazing into his eyes so he could watch her. She was his and only his in that moment; he could do what he may with her.

Marco pressed into Kelly's hand until she was sure he would break it.

"Guys, really: we're right here. At least do this under closed doors, when we're NOT here." The was a thud as the door closed behind them. Kelly had not touched it, neither had Marco.

As if in a fairy tale, Tom caressed the princess and brought his lips to hers. His touch was unsure, awkward, but uniquely his. Star accepted his touch as she accepted his body. She ran her hands across his chest as her lips explored him.

Marco groaned and grabbed his chest.

There was no resistance on Star's part, no coercion from Tom. She accepted him like the air she breathed, the breath they shared warm and quick. Star wanted Tom; it was this _want_ that crippled Marco. He closed his eyes, but the sound, the sound was still heard, like the beating of a thousand hearts, the whirling of a thousand pages. The touching of their lips, Star's quiet gasps, the sound of Tom running his hands through Star's hair, Star's light hair, her blonde her, her puppy-like hair.

"That's enough!" he yelled. He shoved both their shoulders. The world spun and Marco found himself back at the door with Kelly. "What just happened?" Star and Tom lay making merry not far away. The lovers were impervious to Marco's previous assault. Whatever Marco could do to them would not change the way they felt. But Marco did not know this. And he did not care. Marco's anger grew, his eyes tearing up in the process. He clenched his fist and stepped forward.

"I said STOP!"

Marco brought his fist forward and pounded into another door. They were in an unfamiliar hallway again. Star's door was nowhere to be found. Marco continued berating the wood until the dents began to bleed. Quietly, he slumped to the floor, his present energy drained. The blood on his fingers stung more than the memory.

"I just want this to end, Kelly. I want all of these games to end."

Kelly gave no reply, choosing instead to help Marco onto his feet. Marco's weakness sparked something in Kelly, igniting a small fire. She slumped his arm over her shoulder.

His present emotions were embarrassing. He was weak and cowardly. But Kelly loved him. And Kelly would not see him end here. Kelly had given up on many things in her life, had regretted many decisions she had made, but this was not going to be one of them. She would never be the best princess, she would never be the strongest knight, but she would always be a strongest of friends, even if it hurt her. She would find a way to get them back home, she would find a way to help Marco. She would find a way to help herself.

She whispered these things to herself as she led Marco through the castle, sure her emotions would keep her going. The brightest fire in the world, while beautiful to watch, would only burn so long. Even the sun would one day die. And while Kelly's emotions were bright, they could only sustain her for so long.

In the end, they too would be extinguished.


	5. Chapter 5

Kelly gave up.

On the 6th hour after of carrying Marco her body said no more. The moment was not monumental nor quick; like an eroding mountain, the change was gradual. She did not collapse as a corpse does; she had too much pride for that. She walked down the hall, the sound of her steps rhythmic and relaxing, and fell to her knees. The initial pain would have hurt a normal man, but Kelly was too far gone to feel it. Marco's collapsed from her shoulders onto the floor, his mind long since spent. He had weathered the past few hours drifting in and out of consciousness, much as he had drifted in and out of water as a kid. He had missed swimming, he had told Kelly. He wished he had done more of it when they had gone to the beach. He told Kelly much as they moved through hallways.

He had apologized for his previous actions. It had been the heat of the moment that made him deny her, the sun was in the wrong place of the sky when she had asked, he was sure his mother would not enjoy his being with an outer-worldy creature. As he went on conversing his words began to be less profound and more digressive. He spoke of his childhood, his friends, the way he used to search the closet for monsters, the way he still enjoyed wishing to the stars every night before bed. He had spoken much during his regression; he poured his soul onto her until he had nothing left.

Then, he spoke little.

Marco lay still, his breathing light. Kelly wondered if he was dreaming, the kick of leg like that of a dog. Kelly had always wanted a dog, she had always wanted something to take care of.

She gazed into her hands. They were calloused, her skin aged like leather. Each callous had come from effort she had put in life, the memory of fear and longing etched into her body. There had been much to long for, much to warrant her actions: she had been young once, she had wanted the entire world on her platter. Now in her state, she could only to partake in the delicate memories she had garnered.

She examined her surroundings, quite at peace with what her effort had given her. Even if she had accomplished little, she had always tried; it had been in her nature. It had been futile to be the best, but she had wanted to try. It had been effortless to carry Marco, but she wanted to try. She had tried scaling mountains as easy as lizards did walls, and even without reaching the summit, she was glad she had gone far as she had. She was happy she had put so much of herself in her work; it made all her troubles seem worth it. Even if unfinished, she was glad for the opportunities she had been given. She sat on her ankles and looked around: this would be a good place to rest. Or die.

The hallway was different than the rest. The doors were uniform in size and shape, each colored with a mosaic of glass than ran a gamete greater than any rainbow. There was no indication that any door could be opened; none had hinges. Kelly was sure they would open if she tried. But for once, Kelly was content with not trying. No more walking, no moving forward. Idleness was tantamount to failure, but you could learn from your failures; there was much to learn from lament.

She did not know how long she sat there. Minutes, hours even. She did not feel hunger, she was sure the feeling had left long ago. She closed her eyes, a spell of slumber creeping across her body. She regretted not trying harder. She could never have been the best, but she could have damn well tried. There was so much she wanted. But there was nothing to want anymore.

So Kelly quit wanting.

Kelly shut her eyes. It was an hour into this deep mediation that Kelly sensed something change. She felt movement, heard a barely audible noise. Her lids fluttered.

Before her, floating above the ground, was the blue form and yellow robes of Glossaryck.

"About time you woke up, I've been here for hours."

Kelly's eyes widened. "Glossaryck! You can speak!" She pinched her cheeks to see if she was dreaming. The exercise did little. She was too tired to feel pain.

Glossaryck shrugged. "I couldn't stay silent forever. Besides, you guys were never going to get the Globgor thing."

The tiny god hovered above the duo, yawning and stretching his legs. He was quite bored with his day. His eyes, like hers, were barely open. "Let's see what we have here. Is the whiny one dead? Nah, I doubt death would put up with him; I'm honestly unsure at how Star can, either. Well, I suppose this is for the better: Star would really hate it if I brought him back dead, anyways."

There was a faint stirring from the floor. A faint shuffling of hair accompanied the sight of Marco lifting his head. "I hate you, Glossaryck." Marco instantly fell back into unconsciousness.

"Looks like you guys got yourself in quite a pickle," Glossaryck chuckled," Thank Mewni, I was finally able to find you."

"Glossaryck," Kelly muttered," what is this place? How did we get here?"

"Why, my green-haired fellow, you are inside of Mewni castle of course. And you walked in like the rest of us."

Kelly sighed. She had put up with a lot today, she was not about to put up with him. Glossaryck laughed as he spun his body around, examining the duo upside-down. "You are inside the remnants of Mewni castle. Butterfly after Butterfly have used magic and died in these walls. Where do you think this magic goes? Does it dissipate? Is it all used up? Yes and know. The remnants of magic can often stay, and years of magic residue have left Mewni castle a hotbed for sorcery, kind of like a hot cauldron for magic: just because the meal has finished cooking doesn't mean the fires out. It's rare that anyone is able to access this dormant magic, but it seems both of your wishes were great enough to channel this awesome power."

"But we never wished for this." Kelly responded.

"Openly, maybe not. But subconsciously, this was something you both wanted. And the castle did it's best to make it true." Glossaryck looked towards the doors. "I knew you guys would make a mess of this, so I came searching for you. It seems you both are so far gone that you wouldn't have been able to escape without me. Don't worry, I can take you guys out of here, but you're going to need to follow my instructions."

Kelly's spirit's rose. "And what are they?"

"Don't fight back." Glossaryck pointed a toe at Marco and zapped him with a lightning. Marco went stiff for a moment before going completely still.

"Marco, OH MY GOD! GLOSSARYCK, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

"Relaaaaaaax," he ushered, "he's just asleep; it's easier this way. I need to erase the memories of this place. As long as he remembers the existence of this realm, leaving will never be possible: this would always be his escape.

"But why?" She uttered.

"This is still something you want, as much as you both want to escape. The fact that you're still here shows one of you wants this. The only way to set both of you free is to escape from your wishes."

Kelly was skeptical. But she had no one else to trust.

"Wait…will we really forget everything?" Her emotions, her determination, getting turned down by Marco. Would she forget all of it? Would she make the same mistakes again?

"It all has to go, from bouncing on books to breathing air. Neither of you can have any memory or attachment to this place."

"But what if I want to remember some of it?"

"Out of the question. There can be no attachment to this place. Attachment means memories, memories will draw you back here. As long as you have ties, you will always have the chance to slip into this world you have created."

"But," Kelly cried," I learned so much here. I had a purpose. I had so much answered!"

Glossaryck sighed. His day had been too long.

"Kelly, what you thought you learned here, whatever happened, none of it mattered. If you had some life changing event or not, it has no point in the long run. There were thousands of things that could have happened here, millions of scenarios that played out: whatever you learned from this one moment is not important. If it is, then you'll probably have the chance to learn it again. And if not, it's really not my job to care. I have seen thousands of people like you live and die without finding answers they wanted; and that's alright. Not everyone figures out everything they want. And you should take this as a good thing. Maybe you won't make the same mistakes later, maybe you will. Maybe in another time, the person you like will reciprocate your feelings. Or maybe they won't. Or maybe you're doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again, hopping from one indecision to the next like the seasons; it's not my job to know and not my job to care. And neither should you. In the end, none of it matters. This trifle is short: you live your life, you do your best, and you still may not always get to where you want. But at least you tried and that's not something everyone gets to say. At the end of this game, everyone goes in the same box, but how we get in that box will be different. And now the question goes sot you, Kelly: how will you end this game?"

Kelly began responding back, when she stopped. She had no answer to his question, she did not know where her life would go. She could go on to become the greatest of monarchs or die tomorrow. She could fight the greatest of dragons, defeat the darkest of darkness, or have children and marry within a few years. In each instance, the outcome was death. But in each scenario, she knew she would never stop trying. Love it or hate it, her life was determination.

She looked to Glossaryck and nodded. "I want to go home, Glossaryck." And for the first time that day, she meant it. A bolt of light flashed into the sky.

And then there was nothing.

"Globgor! Globgor!"

A knock at the door awakened Kelly. Her vision was blurry, her limbs sore. The door opened and light poured into the room. To her surprise, she was propped against a barrel with Marco right next to her. To her dismay, she had no recollection of how they had gotten there. Or what had caused her pain. It had probably been the corn she slept on; she really didn't care for corn.

"Globgor! Globgor!"

"Glossaryck, will you stop that!" A blond-haired girl ran into the room. "Tom, we found them. Get in here!" Star walked into the room, her blonde hair tussled between her fingers. "Guys, we've been searching the entire castle for you! You disappeared like two hours ago! What are you guys doing in the supply closet?" Kelly didn't know what to say; she didn't have memory of any of it. Marco groaned beside her. "Oh Marco, you look terrible. What happened to you? Here," Star said, propping him on her shoulder," my room isn't too far away, let's put you on the bed, my treat." Star walked out with Marco, motioning for Tom to get Kelly. Before the pair left, Kelly saw Marco quietly hug Star; she knew he would be alright. Tom offered Kelly a hand.

"Need help getting up?"

Kelly was tired, remarkably tired. She felt as if she had been walking for days. Her body felt as if she had fought a thousand battles. But to her own discontent, she replied, "no". She stood up, putting newfound energy into her limbs. It felt good to move on her own, it felt like quite some time since she had done so. She took a tentative step and lost her bearings, falling over in the process. Tom grabbed her arm to settle her body; Kelly quickly waved his help away. It had been a fluke, she could stand up on her own. Tom released her hand but not before noticing something peculiar.

"What's that on your arm?" Tom said.

She looked down at her limb and saw writing. Written on her arm was as follows:

_In conquest, I toil._

Kelly stared at the scripture.

"Wow," she muttered," that's so …. lame." And without missing a beat, rubbed off the writing.

"Come on, Tom," she started, smiling for the first time that day, "let's go back to Star's room. I am tired of playing games, and I'm not gonna lie, a good nap sounds killer about now."

_The End_

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